Grace Alive: a Christian Romance (18 page)

“If this gets out, it will ruin me. I’ll have
nothing at all.” Fear filled his face, and he grabbed my hands.

“Please, Zoe, talk to Jacob. Maybe he will
convince his family to stay. They wanted you in exchange for their
commitment. If you don’t say something they will leave the church.
Please,” he begged me. I looked into my dad’s guilt filled eyes
that were brimming with tears.

“Dad, I can’t court Jacob. If that’s the
condition then they are going to leave the church. I’ll talk to
him, but I love Branson. I’m courting Branson. I’m not going to say
anything about Mia, but you need to. You need to make this right.”
My eyes filled with tears, but I promised myself I wouldn’t start
crying again. I probably wouldn’t stop if I started to cry.

“I will. I promise,” he said, and I believed
him.

“You need to read this book Branson told me
about. Promise me.” I rummaged in my purse and pulled out
Destined to Reign.
I’d went and bought my own copy. I’d read
it twice already. I was a speed reader.

“I will,” he said and looked at the cover of
the book.

***

Dinner that night felt like chewing on nails.
Painful. My mom knew something was terribly wrong between me and my
dad, but I don’t think she wanted to ask what it was. After we’d
eaten, I called Branson and lay on my bed.

“Hi, Zoe. Wanna say hi to the girls?”

“Sure!” I said and smiled as the twins got on
the phone.

“Hi, Zoe! We love you, Zoe! Can you come over
and play with us? Bree spit up on Daddy’s new shirt! It was so
funny!” I think it was CC who said that, but they both sounded
alike.

“She did, did she? Did Daddy smell like
milk?”

“Yeah! It was yucky!” That sounded like Evie.
I heard Branson laughing in the background.

“Okay, girls, go play okay? Can you give Bree
Bree her toys?”

I heard rummaging around and then shrieks of
laughter. Branson’s kids were the happiest kids I’d ever met in my
life.

“You doing okay?” he asked, and I could feel
his concern right through the phone.

“Dinner was intense. But I made it. I told my
dad he needed to set this right. He needs to be the one to tell my
mom and his church. I’m not saying a word about it.” I twisted the
edge of my comforter in-between my fingers.

“Bree said a new word today!” Branson said,
and I was thankful for the change in subject.

“She did? What did she say?”

“Seriously you’re not going to believe me,
but she said Zoe.”

“What?” I grinned at the thought of that cute
little squirt. “For real?”

“Yup! The twins heard it too! Right girls?” I
heard the two little girls giggling. “Kissy fest!” I heard him
shout, and I think he dropped the phone.

“Hello? Branson?” I covered my mouth to keep
from laughing into the phone. What in the heck! He had seriously
just dropped the phone! I waited for a second as I heard lots of
giggles and noises. Finally I heard him pick it back up.

“Sorry, had to do that! These girls needed
some kisses!” I could picture him grinning, his handsome face
shining with love. Wow.

“You are crazy. Do you know that?”

“Hey, every girl needs a kissy fest,” he
said.

I blushed as I thought of him kissing me.
Yeah, I could use one of those right about now. With all the strain
and stress going on in my house, I needed a major kissy fest!

“I think it’s bedtime for these goofy little
girls. I better put them to bed. I’ll call you later okay?” he
said.

“Okay, thanks for listening to me rant like a
lunatic,” I said and lay against my pillow. We hung up the phone,
and I just stared at the ceiling. It flashed in my mind about Bree
Bree, and I wondered how Branson was handling that whole situation
with Rachel and her new boyfriend. I kept forgetting to ask him
about that. I turned over onto my stomach and started scrolling
Facebook. As I looked at people’s new posts, I felt a sick dread
spread through me. People were…saying weird stuff on there. They
didn’t mention my name at all, but I could see that people were
talking about me and Branson. Especially Jacob and his buddies. I
had a new message too. I clicked it and began to read.

Still a virgin, Zoe? Because we know who
you are dating. Why would you throw it all away for a
man-whore?
I didn’t really know the girl who sent me that. Not
very well anyways. She was one of those Facebook friends I added
because she knew other people I know. I saw that Tori had posted a
status, and she actually did say my name.

Zoe Reed is not who you think she is!
She’s not the perfect Christian everyone claims her to be! She’s
dating a man that I know is a lying, backstabbing, idiot, who has
slept around with a lot of girls! You should pray for her soul!
I just stared at my phone for a long time. Why would she post that
about me? There were comments below it too. I skimmed them but then
couldn’t read anymore because my eyes were starting to form tears
again. I was sick to death of crying! This was dumb!

After a half hour of doing nothing in my
room, I sat at my computer and stared at my story again. What I had
last written was stupid. I deleted it. I started writing again. I
poured out the love I had for Branson in the book. The forgiveness
of God, the love of God, and something amazing began to happen. I
felt my heart melting for my dad. I’d never thought that would
happen. He’d always condemned me my entire life, and now I actually
had a right to point a finger at him and condemn him back. But, I
couldn’t. I couldn’t shake my finger at my dad because I’d have to
point it right back at myself. God had forgiven me once and for
all, and God had forgiven my dad once and for all. He just needed
to know that even though he screwed up really bad that Father God
still loved him. I jumped when my phone rang.

“Hello?” I said with a smile in my voice.

“I finally got those little princesses to
sleep. CC and Evie kept talking about you and wanting to kiss you
goodnight.”

“That is so adorable!” I could picture those
cute little faces. They melted my heart.

“Do you want to go grab a coffee tomorrow
morning?”

I thought about Jacob. I told my dad I would
talk to Jacob and try to convince him to have his parents stay at
our church. I needed to do that sooner rather than later. Maybe I’d
do coffee with Branson tomorrow and brace myself for coffee with
Jacob a different day.

“Yeah, let’s do it. Do you have the kids
tomorrow?”

“Nope, they are all getting shipped to their
moms’ houses,” he said. We talked more about a bunch of random
stuff until I looked at the clock. It was one.

“Holy crap, Branson, I better go to bed!”

“You going to turn into a pumpkin,
Cinderella?” he asked with a laugh.

“I’ll look like a pumpkin tomorrow if I
don’t. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“I’ll be there!” he said, and we both hung up
the phone. I felt a heat spread through my chest, and I held the
phone to my heart. Okay, call me dumb or whatever, but I really,
really liked this guy. The feelings he was bringing out in me were
something I’d never felt before. I allowed myself a silly dreamy
smile.

I walked into the café and sat down at the
table me and Branson had sat at before. A few people were chatting
over their cups of coffee. I was early again, so I pulled out my
notebook and jotted down some fresh ideas for my book. It was
getting really close. I could feel it! It was making me excited to
know that the ending was around the corner. Branson came walking in
a moment later looking distraught. He was toting Bree in his arms.
What was going on? I thought he said he had no kids today. I walked
over to him. He ushered for me to come outside.

“Sorry, Zoe, Rachel and her new boyfriend
were fighting, and Rachel called me to come get Bree. I guess
things were getting out of control, and he was threatening her.”
Branson was shaking with anger. “Can you take her for a second?” He
handed Bree over to me. “It took everything within me not to deck
that guy. I don’t know what to do. It’s not safe for Bree there. I
want to see if I can get full custody of her unless Rachel decides
to dump that loser.”

Bree Bree started playing with the necklace
I’d worn. She stuck it into her mouth and chewed on it. Her eyes
shone with little tears. Aw. She’d been crying.

“He didn’t hurt Bree did he?”

“I don’t know! I just ran out of there as
fast as I could before I killed that guy! I was afraid I’d actually
kill him,” he seethed and his chest rose up and down with anger. He
turned from me.

“I’m sorry; sometimes my past kicks me in the
face. I don’t know what to do. I called Pastor Dom, and he’s on his
way here.”

“Do you want to go home? We can do coffee a
different day?” I asked.

“I’d really like you with me right now so I
don’t go back to Rachel’s and kick the crap out of that guy.” About
five minutes later, a black pickup truck pulled into the café
parking lot. Pastor Dom got out and walked briskly toward us. Bree
was still chewing on my necklace extremely content. Branson had sat
on a bench and was praying under his breath. I wasn’t really sure
what to do, so I just kept Bree happy. Pastor Dom came and sat down
on the bench next to Branson and put his arms around him. They
talked in low tones, so I didn’t really hear what they were saying.
I caught a few words, but not that much.

“Zo—ey….Zo—ey..” Bree gurgled and slapped my
chest with her hands. My face lit up.

“Bree Bree!” I said back to her and blew
kisses into her neck. She giggled. I noticed a mark on her arm that
looked concerning. It looked like someone had pinched her hard. I
frowned and turned to look at Branson. He looked like a mess.
Pastor Dom was still talking to him, and Branson was just nodding,
his eyes still smoldering with a dark anger. Whoa. I’d never seen a
man look that furious before. After 20 minutes, Pastor Dom stood up
and came over to me.

“Hi, Zoe, Bree, how are you, girls?” he asked
with a warm smile.

“Is he okay? I mean what’s going on?” I
shifted Bree in my arms.

“A man from our church is a lawyer, I told
him to try and get custody of Bree. If he feels like his daughter
is being harmed or the home she’s in is dangerous he needs to act.
I think it’s going to be just fine. He’s cooled down. I’ll see you
girls later!” Pastor Dom said and jogged toward his truck. I came
over to Branson and sat Bree in his lap. He pulled his little girl
close to his chest and kissed her head.

“He’s calling Mr. Donavan for me. I’m going
to try and get her in my care completely. I just don’t know what
else to do. I don’t know how I’m going to afford daycare for her.”
He looked out at the traffic his eyebrows knitting in concern.

“A family in our church does daycare for low
budget families. I’m sure they could take Bree,” I said.

“Are you sure that’s wise? Aren’t you being
judged by people there? Won’t they see me and you together?”

“I don’t care anymore, Branson. Let them
think what they want to think. I just want to see Bree safe,” I
said and kissed the little girl’s head.

“Thanks, Zoe. Thanks for actually caring
about all of this.”

***

I sat on the floor of Branson’s living room
holding up some blocks in front of Bree. Branson was in a deep
discussion on the phone.

“No, I’m sorry, Rachel, this was not what I
wanted.” He walked toward his bedroom his phone against his ear. He
gave me an apologetic look. It’d been like this for a bit now. He
had gotten a lawyer and was fighting for custody of his daughter,
but it was a slow process. Rachel had been letting Branson have
Bree for longer periods at a time. She knew that Bree was unsafe
with her. Bree’s eyes sparkled with laughter as she slammed the
blocks against each other.

“Dadadada….” she said and reached the blocks
out toward me. “Ummmm…”

I took the blocks from Bree and smiled.

“Thanks, Bree Bree! Why don’t we build a
castle for Daddy?” I started stacking the blocks on top of each
other humming to myself. I’d been writing a couple new songs
lately. Branson had helped me with one of the melodies earlier
today. I sang what we’d come up with. It was funky. I liked it!

“No, you can’t come and take Bree! Not until
that guy is out of your house!” Branson said, and I heard something
slam. I jumped slightly. He’d been more agitated ever since he’d
started this war with Bree’s mom. He’d had a few meetings with
Pastor Dom, and each time it seemed to really help cool him
off.

“No!” Bree said and slammed the block tower
down while I stared over toward the direction Branson was. I
laughed as she spread the blocks all over the place.

“
Boom!
” I said with a giggle. “Bree,
do you want a cracker?” I asked her as I stood up and lifted her
off the floor.

“Ummm!” She clapped her hands together, so I
took that as a yes. We headed toward the kitchen, and I reached
into the cupboard and found the crackers. The twins were coming
over later tonight, so I had stocked Branson up with extra cookies.
He was going to love that. Ha! I heard Branson’s footsteps, and
looked up after I’d set Bree back down with a cracker in each hand.
She’d cry if she only got one.

“Sorry, Zoe,” he said, and I went into his
arms.

“It’s okay,” I said and gave him a quick
kiss.

“You’re moving in with Alison tomorrow?” he
asked, and I could tell he desperately needed to change the
subject.

“Yeah, my parents aren’t too thrilled with my
decision, and they haven’t been shy about telling me.” I didn’t
want to talk about that really. My dad had been so cold and hostile
toward me.

“How about we snuggle on the couch tonight
after Bree Bree and the twins are in bed and watch a chick flick?
Would that lighten the mood in this place?”